The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is the largest living macropredatory shark and fish. It is a mackerel shark and closely related to the mako sharks, the porbeagle and the salmon shark. It is a robustly built species with a grayish upper-side and a white underside, the latter feature gives it its name. Females average 4.6 to 4.9 m (15 to 16 ft) while males average 3.4 to 4.0 m (11 to 13 ft). Females typically weigh 1,000–1,900 kg (2,200–4,200 lb) compared to 680–1,000 kg (1,500–2,200 lb) for males. They are estimated to reach a length close to 6.1 m (20 ft) and a weight of over 2,494.9 kg (5,500 lb). The shark has approximately 300 triangular, serrated teeth that are continuously replaced. Its massive, fatty liver can reach over a quarter of its body weight and provides buoyancy and energy. White sharks are unusual among fish in that they are warm-blooded, allowing them to remain active in colder waters.
White sharks inhabit tropical and temperate ocean waters around the world and can be found both along the coast and further out to sea. Populations are most concentrated at the Pacific and Atlantic sides of North America and in the waters of southern Africa and Oceania. They are a highly migratory species, traveling between the coast and open ocean and even between continents. The great white shark is an apex predator and preys on marine mammals such as pinnipeds and dolphins, as well as fish, including other sharks, and cephalopods. It is also a prolific scavenger of whale carcasses. Despite its apex predator status, the species itself is sometimes preyed on by orcas. White sharks are generally solitary but gather in aggregations, particularly at feeding sites. They may communicate and establish dominance hierarchies with body language. Reproductive behavior in the species is less understood, but it is known to be ovoviviparous; with pups hatching from eggs within the female, who gives live birth after 12 months. Juvenile white sharks typically inhabit shallower water and cannot eat marine mammals until they reach around 3 m (9.8 ft).
